The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-05-14
ODD AND INTERESTING.

A TELEGRAPH wire stretched around the
earth at the equator would weigh fifty
million pounds, while less than one pound
Of certain spider web would be required.
THE most densely populated city in the
world is said to be New York. There are
eighty five thousand people to the square
mile In one instance, twenty five hum
bred human beings occupy one building.
AN account is given of a young man in
Lincoln, Cal, who Is possessed Of eyes
peculiarly resembling those Of an owl.
His sighti is imperfect in daylight, but in
the darkest night he readily distin guishes
objects entirely invisible to ordinary eyes.
THERE is Jewish sect in Gahcia called
The Karaites who acknowledge only the
6rst book of Moses as their religious guide.
Their lives are said 70 be virtuous, and
they consider it not allowable to discuss
the fundamental bases of revelation They
number in all about forty thousand
In a New England town recently the
skin Of a calf was transformed from Its
natural state upon the animal into a pair
Of boots upon the feet of the owner all in
twenty-four hours, it having passed, in
the mean time, through the hands of the
butcher, the tanner and the shoemaker.
GMONO JIG LJeOH10 Va
gland is widespread belief that white
pigeon is the herald of death. Thus, q
white pigeon alighting upon the chimney
betokens the approach of death to some
occupant of tue house. Owing to this,
pigeon feathers rarely enter into the COM
position of their beds.
A. NOVEL publication to be issued in
Paris is a dictionary Of the slang, can't aud
ancient expressions used in the high and
low life of old and new Paris. The dc
tionary will furnish an English slang
equivalent of the French rendering, TO-
gether with many quotations from French
and English authors.
A NEW and interes ting feat OF piano.
playing was recently recounted in Lon
don paper The performer played con-
stantly for twenty four consecutive hours,
his only refreshment taken during that
time being tea and cigars. According to
the conditions, he had not less than two
fingers on the keys at any time.
IT is said real pearls are found only in
blvalyes; but a useful product is found in
some univalves. Fourteen varieties are
enumerated, the products Of which are
known to commerce. Among these are the
nricu!a z1arqar tiJera, which produces the
most valuable pearls; the pima squamosa
with black and red pearls, and the chank
she'll, with pale-red pearls.
THE primitive process Of the Mexicans
for obtaining quicksilver necessitates the
incessant labor of horse or mule in the
tramping of the ground ore, which. is
mixed with SALT mercury, etc. These ami
mails finally succuhlb to the poisonous
effects of the mercury, when their bones
are ground up to extract the mercury in
them. In one instance two pounds were
thus obtained.
A CASE has come to notice in which g.
horse has acted as rat~catcher. The ro-
dents, it seems, gave the animal great an
noyance by frequenting mis- manger and
pilfering the feed-box. Contempt being
engendered in his equine breast by the
familiarity OF the trou blesome vermin, he
included to try his hand, or rather his
teeth on them. AS rat-5rap he is gigan-
tic success.
In recent scientific lecture CA deep sea
animal life it was stated that, contrary to
general supposition, animal life could ex-
ist at depth OF teen thousand feet
1t was further stated that the pressure
ut that depth would exceed the force OF
twenty locomotives. Strange as it may
seem the fish at the greater depths have
slight tissues and fall to pieces when taken
from the water.
IT takes a Hindoo twelve days to cut an
acre 0t grain by the primitive method he
employs. Win small, curved blade he
sewers the stalks by handfuls Us he squats
up his heels. The wages of a harvester
are said to be about thirty cents per week,
without board. These people will have
nothing to do with the modern threshing-
machine. They prefer the "bhoosa" or
tramping process. They clean the grain by
the aid of the wind
A RETIRED little town in Michigan is the
proud possessor of a modern wonder who
comes into the field Of pub c conspicuity AS
champion chawer OF tobacco. His record
is an average of one pound per day for
eighteen years, some thin, over three and
quarter tons. He has en- the victor in
several matched chaws, and is the stuck
up proprietor of medals galore, tags
Vulnerable and a scutcheon bearing not
even freckle Of defeat.
In Chine artificial oyster culture is large
IL practice1. Bamboo oyster fields are
constructed by attaching old shells to
poles which are planted Oh mud fats be-
tween high and low-water mark but SUBJ
ject to strong tidal currents The oyster
spat adheres to the shells and shortly de-
velops into tiny oysters. Then the BAN
boos are transplanted. In six months they
are found to b. covered with well.grown
bivalyes, which are then marketable.
A SINGULAR incident Of the time Of early
English historyis here related: On one &C.
casion James lbs forces were on tho
point OF surprising King Williams army
early in the morning, when some wrens,
attracted probably by the fragments of tho
preceding nights repast, alighted op the
head Of a drum which had served for a ia
BILE, and the noise of their bills in the act
Of picking awoke the drummer, who in
| Btantly beat to arms and saved Williams
! army from defeat.
The pluck of that saucy little foreigner,
the English sparrow, was one day shown
in an attack upon a large pigeon. The
scarcely perceptible sparrow was observed
to be making wicked lurches at the pigeon,
which evidently was in retreat The
pigeon paused for moment on the wall of
a building, wien its dimnutlve adversary
vigorously attacked and drove it off. The
last seen of the two showed tho pigeon in
full fight with the sparrow in close pur-
suit.
The process of vulcanizing rubber, for
which the inventor searched loag and
I